Help wanted in West County
Mary Shapiro
Of the Suburban Journals
Chesterfield Journal
08/02/2006
Shametha Pickens of St. Louis, who makes a 2-1/2-hour commute to get to work, gets off a Metro bus in front of the Delmar Gardens of Chesterfield retirement center. Some Chesterfield businesses are offering incentives to induce retail/service employees to come to far West County.
It can be hard to get retail/service help in the Chesterfield area.
That's why some businesses are offering incentives to make it easier, especially for potential employees who live farther east, to get to West County.
Joan Schmelig is president of the Chesterfield of Commerce, which has more than 900 members, a majority of whom are retailers.
"Sometimes it takes employees (who live farther east) so long on buses and Metrolink to eventually get to Chesterfield Valley, that my heart goes out to them," Schmelig said. "They can have a four-hour commute.Advertisement
"I can understand why many won't do it, with child care, the price of gas and for other reasons," she said.
"Public transportation is definitely an issue with us," Schmelig said. "I'm hoping to be able to sit down with Chesterfield Mayor John Nations (president of the St. Louis County Municipal League) and officials at Metro to discuss this issue."
Schmelig said the chamber "has worked hard to get the best Metro can provide."
"In the past, the chamber had worked to get a small Chesterfield connector bus route to the valley in 1996," she said, adding that route no longer exists.
"This was the first public transportation west of (the Westfield Chesterfield) mall, but we've had 10 years of struggling with trying to get people to ride the system," she said. "But I understand. I couldn't do an hours-long commute between North County or South County or St. Louis."
She said the Olive Boulevard bus to the Westfield Chesterfield mall "is highly used."
"And it also serves employees of Surrey Place, Friendship Village, Gardenview and Westchester House retirement centers," she said.
But other routes, such as a Clayton Road connector route, are less used, she said.
"And in almost every store, people are looking for employees, especially now," Schmelig said.
"This is the time of year when student employees are going back to college or high school. And many businesses here are trying to prepare for the holidays," she said.
The recently opened Drury Plaza Hotel in Chesterfield was having a tough time getting housekeeping employees, Schmelig said.
"And we advised them there was a manufacturing plant closed in Wright City," she said. "I talked to the manager to see if they could advertise there to get potential employees to carpool here to help out."
Employers offering bus passes and hiring bonuses are not unusual, she said.
For example, on its Web site, Dierbergs Markets, based in Chesterfield, has been advertising an $8.20-per-hour starting pay rate and a $300 hiring bonus for part-time deli/seafood clerks if hired between now and Sept. 30.
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Mary Shapiro
Of the Suburban Journals
Chesterfield Journal
08/02/2006
Shametha Pickens of St. Louis, who makes a 2-1/2-hour commute to get to work, gets off a Metro bus in front of the Delmar Gardens of Chesterfield retirement center. Some Chesterfield businesses are offering incentives to induce retail/service employees to come to far West County.
It can be hard to get retail/service help in the Chesterfield area.
That's why some businesses are offering incentives to make it easier, especially for potential employees who live farther east, to get to West County.
Joan Schmelig is president of the Chesterfield of Commerce, which has more than 900 members, a majority of whom are retailers.
"Sometimes it takes employees (who live farther east) so long on buses and Metrolink to eventually get to Chesterfield Valley, that my heart goes out to them," Schmelig said. "They can have a four-hour commute.Advertisement
"I can understand why many won't do it, with child care, the price of gas and for other reasons," she said.
"Public transportation is definitely an issue with us," Schmelig said. "I'm hoping to be able to sit down with Chesterfield Mayor John Nations (president of the St. Louis County Municipal League) and officials at Metro to discuss this issue."
Schmelig said the chamber "has worked hard to get the best Metro can provide."
"In the past, the chamber had worked to get a small Chesterfield connector bus route to the valley in 1996," she said, adding that route no longer exists.
"This was the first public transportation west of (the Westfield Chesterfield) mall, but we've had 10 years of struggling with trying to get people to ride the system," she said. "But I understand. I couldn't do an hours-long commute between North County or South County or St. Louis."
She said the Olive Boulevard bus to the Westfield Chesterfield mall "is highly used."
"And it also serves employees of Surrey Place, Friendship Village, Gardenview and Westchester House retirement centers," she said.
But other routes, such as a Clayton Road connector route, are less used, she said.
"And in almost every store, people are looking for employees, especially now," Schmelig said.
"This is the time of year when student employees are going back to college or high school. And many businesses here are trying to prepare for the holidays," she said.
The recently opened Drury Plaza Hotel in Chesterfield was having a tough time getting housekeeping employees, Schmelig said.
"And we advised them there was a manufacturing plant closed in Wright City," she said. "I talked to the manager to see if they could advertise there to get potential employees to carpool here to help out."
Employers offering bus passes and hiring bonuses are not unusual, she said.
For example, on its Web site, Dierbergs Markets, based in Chesterfield, has been advertising an $8.20-per-hour starting pay rate and a $300 hiring bonus for part-time deli/seafood clerks if hired between now and Sept. 30.
Read More
